Torrey Mock Trial Competes at Menlo School
The Torrey Mock Trial team, following a second place finish in last year’s County Competition, as well as successful participation in several Southern California Mock Trial events, was given an invitation to the prestigious Menlo School Mock Trial Tournament.
Hosted by Menlo, the event featured 16 elite Mock Trial teams from throughout the state.
Traveling north to Atherton, California (near Stanford) on January 9 and 10, Torrey Mock Trial continued its emerging status as an elite squad. Being the newbies in the tournament, Country Day received the 16th seed and opened against top seed and host, Menlo.
Though a little nervous at first, our Torreys made continued improvement during the first round in a fascinating case involving a murder on a college campus. In round two, the Torreys competed against the legendary team from Mill Valley Tamalpais High School. Tam has won multiple state titles, as well as a national championship. Showing tenacity and professionalism, the Torreys more than held its own. What emerged, despite two defeats, was the realization that the Torrey Mock Trial Team is the intellectual equal of any team in the state.
After a third round on Saturday, a tired but inspired team enjoyed a lovely meal in Menlo Park and then slept in preparation for two more rounds on Sunday.
Traveling north to Atherton, California (near Stanford) on January 9 and 10, Torrey Mock Trial continued its emerging status as an elite squad. Being the newbies in the tournament, Country Day received the 16th seed and opened against top seed and host, Menlo.
Though a little nervous at first, our Torreys made continued improvement during the first round in a fascinating case involving a murder on a college campus. In round two, the Torreys competed against the legendary team from Mill Valley Tamalpais High School. Tam has won multiple state titles, as well as a national championship. Showing tenacity and professionalism, the Torreys more than held its own. What emerged, despite two defeats, was the realization that the Torrey Mock Trial Team is the intellectual equal of any team in the state.
After a third round on Saturday, a tired but inspired team enjoyed a lovely meal in Menlo Park and then slept in preparation for two more rounds on Sunday.
And what a day Sunday turned out to be! Defeating two teams, the Torreys demonstrated increased poise as they dominated Clovis High School from Fresno and Tulare County Champions Redwood High School.
This remarkable tournament concluded with an awards ceremony in which our very own Sofia Islas was awarded a top witness medal for her portrayal of Detective Terry Thomas. In a simultaneous tournament involving a sophisticated pretrial argument Torrey Julianne Martin performed brilliantly actually defeating the eventual winner on one ballot. She is a pretrial superstar.
Other sensational performances were turned in by attorneys Arielle Algaze, Rachael Mow, Matthew Coufal, Rebecca Schleimer, Brennan Foster and Veronica Chandler. In addition to Sofia Islas, our witnesses were portrayed by Andre Pineda, Elaina Sassine, Gabrielle Stryker, Liam Hosey, Posy Stoller, Rebecca Margetts and Rubia Liu. All showed a remarkable combination of persuasive acting skills and the ability to stay calm and flexible under pressure. Our bailiff Jackson Benning, and Court Clerk Raquel Ramirez were flawless in their roles.
After an intense but remarkable weekend, our competitors learned that they had moved up FIVE positions during the course of the tournament, finishing in eleventh place. The hard work had paid off.
Special thanks to faculty coaches Jonathan Shulman, Dan Norland, and Glen Pritzker for their time and support as well as Dean of Faculty Dr. Julie Strong.
Mock Trial is an activity that teaches skills for a lifetime: knowledge of the law, presentational skills, the ability to adapt and adjust to changing circumstances.
A Middle School Mock Trial class in the works and the Upper School team is looking for eighth through 11th graders who are interested in participating next year. GO TORREY MOCK TRIAL, a program committed to inspiring greatness for a better world. Look to future updates as the team prepares for the county competition in February.
